Most people have heard of the infamous Sheriff of Nottingham of "Robin Hood" fame, though they are unlikely to know the story of the real man, Sir Philip de Mark. However, even more obscure is the Sheriff of Lincolnshire who worked with him, Nicola de la Hay, a woman.From 1216-1218 Lady Nicola succeeded her father as Hereditary Sheriff Lady Nicola de la Hay of Lincolnshire and Constable of Lincoln Castle.
Her father, Richard, Lord de la Hay, was himself Sheriff of Lincolnshire but was removed from this office by King Richard I because he had supported the cause of Richard's rebellious brother, John Lackland. When Richard died of an arrow wound in France in 1199, John became King of England. On de la Hay's death, his daughter, Nicola, a widow, was appointed to fill his position in partnership with Philip de mark, who was already Sheriff of Nottingham -- yes, the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Towards the end of King John's reign a number of English barons rebelled against him, and forced him to sign the Magna Carta in 1215. Many eventually courting the invasion of Prince Louis of France, promising to give him the throne of England. Lady Nicola did not shirk the duty of defensing the city and castle Lincoln, and she held the castle long enough for the king's forces to find a way into the occupied walled city to break the rebel siege of the castle in the Lincoln Fair, the humorous name given, referring to the ease with which the loyalists triumphed, to the battle of 20 May 1217.
John's death and his nine-year-old son's accession as King Henry III soured even the rebel barons' taste for a French king, and after a storm in the English Channel destroyed much of Louis's fleet, he went back to France.
Few women ever held the position of sheriff so it was all the more remarkable that Lady Nicola was confirmed in her position by John's heir, King Henry.
Very little else is known about Lady Nicola except that she was staunchly loyal to King John until his death. She may have lived into the 1220s.